Oh, I love a day in the city. The sights, the sounds, the shopping. I always have a good time, whether I am there for an expo or exhibit or I am there to wander & shop. Cowboy & I went in on this blustery Saturday as an official "Welcome Back to New York". We got there around lunch time (so I had to stop & eat, first thing) and then we were off. My actual mission was the grand opening of the Container Store. Good for me that it is on 58th & Lex. & we were at Penn. That meant lots of shopping along the way. It really wasn't as windy as expected & not nearly as crowded as usual. Wanna know why the streets weren't crowded? They were all IN the Container Store. Cute store, poorly set up & laid out. But, I did manage to buy my mom these odd, well, ummm, containers that look like cupcake wrappers to us. Leave it to my mother & me to see it as something for food. I figure we can pop a hole in the bottom & they will make adorable planters. We stopped in all of the major stores: Sax, Build-A-Bear, Macys, Trump Towers, Abercrombie...missed out on Bergdorfs, though. I did a little post "happy birthday/anniversary to me" shopping. Did you think I wouldn't? I got a shirt from A&F that says "cute & classy" because I am. I also got a new LV wristlet that is the shape of their clamshell bag only much smaller. I saw it at our first pass through Macy's & thought about it for the next five hours. I bought it. I love it. It is me & if you get the honor of seeing it, you will say "It's Me", too!
We were supposed to meet up with KDP for dinner. Cowboy had fallen ill by 5:30 and he decided to go home. KDP & I grabbed dinner at Penn. at some pub named Kabooz. Very cute. Easy to get to. Good prices. It was so convenient & we had a relaxing meal. Then, on to the show! How nice is it when you really don't need a coat from the moment you get on the train until the evening is over? I have to remember to eat there next time & not be so bundled up. OH~ side note~ this is definitely the place to have a drink on a Thursday at rush hour because you can see that every business man is going to stop off to have a beer before the ride home. This could be a new watering hole, ladies.
We entered MSG at 7:00. The crowds were overwhelming! And, yet, when we settled into our seats (very good view of the stage & Billy) the place appeared to be empty. We sat & waited & watched four men (maybe five) climb to the top of this skinny rope ladder & wondered how one gets a job like that. They were the "spotlight crew" and did a nice job. The people in our section were odd, I must say. Some were drunk before the show began, but many did not arrive until well into the show. And I do not know how that is possible. It was on a Saturday. The show didn't start until 8:00 (actually, it began at 8:15...not happy about that because we had already been sitting for an hour and fifteen minutes...and they had bought the tickets way back in January. They knew they were coming last night. How do you arrive late? I have no idea. People need to start planning better.
Ah~~Billy Joel. If you are a Long Islander, especially from Hicksville, you are a fan. It's not a question of "do you listen", "do you like", or a demand of "you must be...". You just are. Listening to his songs is a reminiscent trip of your youth. He opened with "Angry Young Man" & "My Life". So good live! Then he did the resume builder of song by release date/album. We heard "Ballad of Billy the Kid" and "Zanzibar". Oh, MSG was silent for six minutes. That was the only time that there was silence. It then picked up with all of the greats, starting with "NY State of Mind". I have the children's book that he had illustrated to the lyrics of that song & it is beautiful! At one point, he asked for our patience and brought out a guy from the road crew. Joel billed this man as "Chainsaw" and Chainsaw did quite the rendition of 'Highway to Hell'! Interesting. Joel rocked out on the guitar.
All in all, Billy sang 24 songs + played in the ensemble for Chainsaw. I was ecstatic! He did monologues between songs, leading up to songs & what inspired him, and after songs to toy with the audience. There was a woman who played what looked like every instrument on the stage. Her name was Crystal something & she was awesome.
KDP & I got out of there @ 10:50 pm. The walk down the stairs was quite interesting. The adults were all trashed and making spectacles of themselves. They were goofing around ON the staircase, drunk, disorderly, and pushing/grabbing their friends who were ahead or behind them, separated by sober people such as myself. It got to the point that I yelled ahead/down to KDP "How Old Are These People?!? Grow Up!" Yeah, so I'm a mood killer. It was better than landing at the bottom of the stairs because of the horse-play of 50 year-olds.
I have to point out that the two of us attended Z100's Jingle Ball back in December. The acts there were quite young & a bit rowdy. However, the teens/20somethings leaving the venue were much more behaved. And as for the music? I had no problem hearing anything last time after leaving. This time? Completely deaf. I can't explain it.
We had a few minutes & decided to grab Starbucks. So did everybody else. I wanted to be adventurous & I finally tried the passion iced tea. It always looks so pretty & refreshing. Want to know how it tasted? TERRIBLE! It was so bad, but I was so thirsty & literally ran onto the train a minute later. SO I was stuck with it. YUCK!
I sat on my train & immediately called Cowboy. I had to make sure he would be awake to come & pick me up at the station because he had taken my car. I know, driving my new car? I am either a really trusting person or completely insane. Depends on the day. He was awake & feeling lousy, so it is a good thing he didn't stay with us for dinner. The ride home was uneventful. Typical train with drunk & disorderly adults who obviously do not get out often enough & forgot how to behave in public.
The day was great but I did come home sick. I have that nasty cold going around. I am so achy & stuffy & ugh. At least it's happening towards the end of the weekend & I got to enjoy my birthday & the day after.
I had fun!
